A green iron shutter and a giant lock greets one upon reaching the Sector 62 office of the Noida-based transport operator, one of whose vehicles was used in the rape of a 23-year-old girl.
Outside, all banners and signs of identity have been carefully taken down. Owners of nearby shops
say the office, by the name of Yadav Tour and Travels, has been shut ever since the tragic incident came to light.

Though the details mentioned on the Whiteline bus say the office is located in Sector 12, but when an HT reached the spot it found the office had been shifted to Sector 62 three months back.

Dinesh Yadav, the operator, could not be reached for comment. He has around 30 buses running in the NCR region.

“All the buses were parked here till Sunday. On Monday, the staff removed the banners and closed the office. We have not seen their buses or employees ever since then,” says Sunil, who owns a studio in the area.

There are various transporters in the city running vehicles under the name of Yadav Tour and Travels. They are now painting their vehicles to avoid being associated with the case.

“The police are stopping our buses as ‘Yadav’ is printed on them. This incident has given us a bad name. More than 350 buses with Yadav painted on them run in the NCR region,” said an operator, requesting anonymity.

Other transporters in Noida running their business under the same name are complaining their business has taken a hit in the wake of the gangrape incident.

A transporter even claimed that his landlord had asked him to vacate his office premises as he didn't want “to be even remotely associated with a name that has brought such shame to the nation”. The transport department had on Wednesday cancelled the permits of all the buses owned by Dinesh Yadav’s Yadav Tour and Travels.

According to officials, the operator had 10 buses registered in Delhi of which three were impounded.

Yadav had been permitted to use the vehicles to ferry tourists and children and people headed to schools and offices.